The Arabian Nights Entertainments
The prince took this advice, and spent the rest of the day filling the
fifty jars, and fearing lest the precious talisman might slip from his
arm and be lost again, he took the precaution of putting it in one of
the jars, on which he made a mark so as to be able to recognise it.
When night came the jars were all ready, and the prince and his host
went to bed.
Whether in consequence of his great age, or of the fatigues and
excitement of the previous day, I do not know, but the gardener passed
a very bad night. He was worse next day, and by the morning of the
third day was dangerously ill. At daybreak the ship's captain and some
of his sailors knocked at the garden door and asked for the passenger
who was to embark.
"I am he," said Camaralzaman, who had opened the door. "The gardener
who took my passage is ill and cannot see you, but please come in and
take these jars of olives and my bag, and I will follow as soon as I
have taken leave of him."
The sailors did as he asked, and the captain before leaving charged
Camaralzaman to lose no time, as the wind was fair, and he wished to
set sail at once.
As soon as they were gone the prince returned to the cottage to bid
farewell to his old friend, and to thank him once more for all his
kindness. But the old man was at his last gasp, and had barely
murmured his confession of faith when he expired.
Camaralzaman was obliged to stay and pay him the last offices, so
having dug a grave in the garden he wrapped the kind old man up and
buried him. He then locked the door, gave up the key to the owner of
the garden, and hurried to the quay only to hear that the ship had
sailed long ago, after waiting three hours for him.
It may well be believed that the prince felt in despair at this fresh
misfortune, which obliged him to spend another year in a strange and
distasteful country. Moreover, he had once more lost the Princess
Badoura's talisman, which he feared he might never see again. There
was nothing left for him but to hire the garden as the old man had
done, and to live on in the cottage. As he could not well cultivate
the garden by himself, he engaged a lad to help him, and to secure the
rest of the treasure he put the remaining gold dust into fifty more
jars, filling them up with olives so as to have them ready for
transport.
Whilst the prince was settling down to this second year of toil and
privation, the ship made a rapid voyage and arrived safely at the Ebony
Island.
As the palace of the new king, or rather of the Princess Badoura,
overlooked the harbour, she saw the ship entering it and asked what
vessel it was coming in so gaily decked with flags, and was told that
it was a ship from the Island of the Idolaters which yearly brought
rich merchandise.
The princess, ever on the look out for any chance of news of her
beloved husband, went down to the harbour attended by some officers of
the court, and arrived just as the captain was landing. She sent for
him and asked many questions as to his country, voyage, what passengers
he had, and what his vessel was laden with. The captain answered all
her questions, and said that his passengers consisted entirely of
traders who brought rich stuffs from various countries, fine muslins,
precious stones, musk, amber, spices, drugs, olives, and many other
things.
As soon as he mentioned olives, the princess, who was very partial to
them, exclaimed:
"I will take all you have on board. Have them unloaded and we will
make our bargain at once, and tell the other merchants to let me see
all their best wares before showing them to other people."
"Sire," replied the captain, "I have on board fifty very large pots of
olives. They belong to a merchant who was left behind, as in spite of
waiting for him he delayed so long that I was obliged to set sail
without him."
"Never mind," said the princess, "unload them all the same, and we will
arrange the price."
The captain accordingly sent his boat off to the ship and it soon
returned laden with the fifty pots of olives. The princess asked what
they might be worth.
"Sire," replied the captain, "the merchant is very poor. Your Majesty
will not overpay him if you give him a thousand pieces of silver."
"In order to satisfy him and as he is so poor," said the princess, "I
will order a thousand pieces of gold to be given you, which you will be
sure to remit to him."
So saying she gave orders for the payment and returned to the palace,
having the jars carried before her. When evening came the Princess
Badoura retired to the inner part of the palace, and going to the
apartments of the Princess Haiatelnefous she had the fifty jars of
olives brought to her. She opened one to let her friend taste the
olives and to taste them herself, but great was her surprise when, on
pouring some into a dish, she found them all powdered with gold dust.
"What an adventure! how extraordinary!" she cried. Then she had the
other jars opened, and was more and more surprised to find the olives
in each jar mixed with gold dust.
But when at length her talisman was discovered in one of the jars her
emotion was so great that she fainted away. The Princess Haiatelnefous
and her women hastened to restore her, and as soon as she recovered
consciousness she covered the precious talisman with kisses.
Then, dismissing the attendants, she said to her friend:
"You will have guessed, my dear, that it was the sight of this talisman
which has moved me so deeply. This was the cause of my separation from
my dear husband, and now, I am convinced, it will be the means of our
reunion."
As soon as it was light next day the Princess Badoura sent for the
captain, and made further inquiries about the merchant who owned the
olive jars she had bought.
In reply the captain told her all he knew of the place where the young
man lived, and how, after engaging his passage, he came to be left
behind.
"If that is the case," said the princess, "you must set sail at once
and go back for him. He is a debtor of mine and must be brought here
at once, or I will confiscate all your merchandise. I shall now give
orders to have all the warehouses where your cargo is placed under the
royal seal, and they will only be opened when you have brought me the
man I ask for. Go at once and obey my orders."
The captain had no choice but to do as he was bid, so hastily
provisioning his ship he started that same evening on his return voyage.
When, after a rapid passage, he gained sight of the Island of
Idolaters, he judged it better not to enter the harbour, but casting
anchor at some distance he embarked at night in a small boat with six
active sailors and landed near Camaralzaman's cottage.
The prince was not asleep, and as he lay awake moaning over all the sad
events which had separated him from his wife, he thought he heard a
knock at the garden door. He went to open it, and was immediately
seized by the captain and sailors, who without a word of explanation
forcibly bore him off to the boat, which took them back to the ship
without loss of time. No sooner were they on board than they weighed
anchor and set sail.
Camaralzaman, who had kept silence till then, now asked the captain
(whom he had recognised) the reason for this abduction.
"Are you not a debtor of the King of the Ebony Island?" asked the
captain.
"I? Why, I never even heard of him before, and never set foot in his
kingdom!" was the answer.
"Well, you must know better than I," said the captain. "You will soon
see him now, and meantime be content where you are and have patience."
The return voyage was as prosperous as the former one, and though it
was night when the ship entered the harbour, the captain lost no time
in landing with his passenger, whom he conducted to the palace, where
he begged an audience with the king.
Directly the Princess Badoura saw the prince she recognised him in
spite of his shabby clothes. She longed to throw herself on his neck,
but restrained herself, feeling it was better for them both that she
should play her part a little longer. She therefore desired one of her
officers to take care of him and to treat him well. Next she ordered
another officer to remove the seals from the warehouse, whilst she
presented the captain with a costly diamond, and told him to keep the
thousand pieces of gold paid for the olives, as she would arrange
matters with the merchant himself.
She then returned to her private apartments, where she told the
Princess Haiatelnefous all that had happened, as well as her plans for
the future, and begged her assistance, which her friend readily
promised.
Next morning she ordered the prince to be taken to the bath and clothed
in a manner suitable to an emir or governor of a province. He was then
introduced to the council, where his good looks and grand air drew the
attention of all on him.
Princess Badoura, delighted to see him looking himself once more,
turned to the other emirs, saying:
"My lords, I introduce to you a new colleague, Camaralzaman, whom I
have known on my travels and who, I can assure you, you will find well
deserves your regard and admiration."
Camaralzaman was much surprised at hearing the king--whom he never
suspected of being a woman in disguise--asserting their acquaintance,
for he felt sure he had never seen her before. However he received all
the praises bestowed on him with becoming modesty, and prostrating
himself, said:
"Sire, I cannot find words in which to thank your Majesty for the great
honour conferred on me. I can but assure you that I will do all in my
power to prove myself worthy of it."
On leaving the council the prince was conducted to a splendid house
which had been prepared for him, where he found a full establishment
and well-filled stables at his orders. On entering his study his
steward presented him with a coffer filled with gold pieces for his
current expenses. He felt more and more puzzled by such good fortune,
and little guessed that the Princess of China was the cause of it.
After a few days the Princess Badoura promoted Camaralzaman to the post
of grand treasurer, an office which he filled with so much integrity
and benevolence as to win universal esteem.
He would now have thought himself the happiest of men had it not been
for that separation which he never ceased to bewail. He had no clue to
the mystery of his present position, for the princess, out of
compliment to the old king, had taken his name, and was generally known
as King Armanos the younger, few people remembering that on her first
arrival she went by another name.
At length the princess felt that the time had come to put an end to her
own and the prince's suspense, and having arranged all her plans with
the Princess Haiatelnefous, she informed Camaralzaman that she wished
his advice on some important business, and, to avoid being disturbed,
desired him to come to the palace that evening.
The prince was punctual, and was received in the private apartment,
when, having ordered her attendants to withdraw, the princess took from
a small box the talisman, and, handing it to Camaralzaman, said: "Not
long ago an astrologer gave me this talisman. As you are universally
well informed, you can perhaps tell me what is its use."
Camaralzaman took the talisman and, holding it to the light, cried with
surprise, "Sire, you ask me the use of this talisman. Alas! hitherto
it has been only a source of misfortune to me, being the cause of my
separation from the one I love best on earth. The story is so sad and
strange that I am sure your Majesty will be touched by it if you will
permit me to tell it you."
"I will hear it some other time," replied the princess. "Meanwhile I